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Victoria’s Olympic basketball qualifying tournament moved to 2021

Canada's head coach Nick Nurse protests a call for Nigeria during the second half of their exhibition game in Winnipeg, Friday, August 9, 2019 in preparation for the FIBA Basketball World Cup. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods)

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VICTORIA --
The FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament which was set to take place in Victoria this summer has officially been postponed to 2021, according to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

The postponement comes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that the Tokyo Olympic Games would be postponed to next year.

Victoria’s tournament, which was originally scheduled to begin on June 23, will now run from June 29 to July 4, 2021.

The three other Olympic qualifying games, hosted in Croatia, Lithuania and Serbia, will all take place on the same dates.

“Next summer’s FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament will be a much welcomed occasion to realize the power of sport and help unite our country,” said Glen Grunwald, president & CEO of Canada Basketball, on Thursday.

“Let’s all plan on coming together to cheer on Team Canada to a berth in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.”

Rules for the 2021 qualifying tournaments will remain the same as this year.

In Victoria, six national teams will compete for one spot in the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The six teams will be divided into two groups, with each group comprised of three teams.

Each team will then face off against the other two teams in their group once. The winners of each group will then face each other in a semi-finalist game, with the winner of that match going on to play in the 2021 Olympics.

Anyone who purchased a ticket for the 2020 tournament can either hold onto it for next year or request a refund.

Refund requests can be emailed to info@selectyourtickets.com. They can also be made by calling the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre at 250-220-7777 before June 30, 2020.

“Communities across the Capital Region, Canada and around the world continue to show tremendous resiliency in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Clint Hamilton, Friends of Victoria Basketball chair.

"If we continue along this positive path we're on, hosting the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament next summer in Greater Victoria will be something we can all look forward to as a chance to witness world-class sport, celebrate our collective perseverance and the determined spirit shown in overcoming this global crisis."